DADDY COOL

The man is Walt Frazier, better known as “Clyde” – one of the greatest points guards in the NBA history. He led his team, the New York Knicks, to their two NBA Championship titles in 1970 and 1973. He played 825 NBA games, scored 15,581 career points and was named NBA All Star seven times.

The New York Times once said that he is one of the few top athletes whose lifestyle became more extraordinary than his statistics. For millions of basketball fans, Frazier is the epitome of “cool”. He was admired for his style and his flair, on and off the court, and soon became one of the 1970s fashion icons. He was regularly featured in the “Best Dressed Jock” list of Esquire Magazine or even in the “10 Sexiest Athletes” list.  

Getting on those lists was quite pricy and rumour has it that during his first season at the Knicks, he spent over $10,000 of his $25,000 salary on clothes. “Looking sharp has always been important to me,” he says. “At the beginning of my professional career, I wasn’t really meeting the expectations, and I thought if I can’t play well enough, at least I want to look good.”  

TWO LEGENDARY STORIES TELL ABOUT HOW THE SHY BOY FROM ATLANTA BECAME “CLYDE”

Frazier’s nickname derived from the crime duo ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ who were famous for numerous bank robberies. Because of his sneaky game and ability to make fast steals, Frazier became known as Clyde.  

But there is also another side of the story that Frazier loves to tell: “In 1967, my team lost in Baltimore and I went shopping afterwards. I bought a wide-brim hat, a fedora hat from the Italian brand Borsalino in brown velour. At that time, nobody was wearing that style, so I was mocked by the entire team. I felt ridiculous at first and never wanted to wear it again.” Ironically, the movie ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ came out two weeks later and Warren Beatty, starring as Clyde, wore the exact same hat. Overnight, 'Clyde' became synonymous for Frazier’s style, both in the way that he dressed and the way he played on court. 

“SHOW ME SOMETHING THAT NO ONE WOULD WEAR”

Who else other than Clyde deserved to be the first athlete to have a shoe named after him? 

“Long before the Jordan, there was the 'Clyde'”, he said jokingly. When PUMA approached him in 1973, Frazier had never heard of the brand before. Nevertheless, the offer was attractive: “They offered me 5,000 US-Dollars and all the shoes I wanted!”

To have his own shoe came with the possibility to create a version perfect to serve his needs. Clyde worked with the designers to come up with a lighter shoe that would give him the support and flexibility he needed to perform his signature moves. During the ideation phase, Frazier wore different 'Clydes' for every match, all in different colour combinations but always in Suede. This ultimately forged his image as a fashion icon. At a time where most basketball players wore simple high top Basketball shoes, Clyde stood out.

Today Clyde has still not retired. He has worked as a TV commentator for New York Knicks games and his fans are eager before the tip-off, wondering what he is going to wear this time. It’s not just his pinpoint analyses or witty comments that are appreciated, but also his extravagant suits, for which he personally picks the fabrics in Manhattan’s garment district. “Show me something that no one would wear”, he would often ask the vendor. He loves to combine different colours, patterns and textures, which his trusted tailor then transforms into his signature look. The most iconic is his “cow suit”, but his closet counts hundreds, if not thousands of different models.